Hyatt’s Gild Hall A Thompson Hotel in NYC: My King Suite Review

Last week we stayed at Gild Hall A Thompson Hotel, a Hyatt property in Lower Manhattan, to celebrate my wife’s birthday. I wanted to book a suite for the occasion, and a Gild Hall King suite was what I thought the nicest standard suite I’ve seen, even if you count hotels that cost much more in cash and points. I paid 24,000 points for a full 2-room suite with a ~$400 price tag. In my opinion, it’s a great value for your Hyatt points, especially if you travel with a family. Here is my brief review.

Gild Hall King suite: the living room and kitchen

Gild Hall is all about wood and leather. The room is beautifully appointed with a decent queen size sleeper sofa in the living room (and I never thought I’d ever say that about a sofa bed).

The kitchen had a microwave, a Keurig coffee machine and a small fridge. In addition, it featured several full-size liquor bottles and craft cocktails. You might be thinking, hmm, full-size liquor bottles … at a New York hotel room … what are the chances they come cheap? Well, you’re right, they don’t. 🙂

The bedroom

While the bedroom was small, it was also well-appointed with another big-screen TV, and, most importantly, the bed was fantastic. Five stars!

The bathroom 

The bathroom was spacious and bright with a large walk-in shower. There was plenty of hot water and good pressure (our room was on the ninth floor). But the design, if you can call it that, was in stark contrast with the rest of the suite. You could call it “minimalist”; well, very minimalist, if you’d like. 🙂

The view

What view? LOL!

No, seriously, there is no view. Which is not the hotel’s fault, obviously.

The Gild Hall location

Gild Hall, a Thompson Hotel

15 Gold Street

New York, New York, 10038-4803

1 212 232 7700

Here it is a little closer.

I’ve counted 14 Hyatt hotels in Manhattan, from the Financial District (Gild Hall) in the south to Central Park (Park Hyatt) in the north, but after doing my research I think Gild Hall suites are arguably the most beautiful and functional of all the standard suites I’ve seen (well, there is Park Hyatt, of course, but it doesn’t seem to offer standard suites, and premium suites go for 60,000 points). It didn’t hurt, of course, that my wife and I love lower Manhattan, especially its southernmost tip, and Gild Hall is located smack dab in the middle of everything worth seeing in the area. It’s within walking distance to Battery Park, the 9/11 memorial, Seaport, ferry terminals, Pier 17, shopping malls, et cetera.

This would also be a great base for exploring NYC waterways. The seaport and ferry terminals, which are just 10 minutes away, give you plenty of cruising options for just a couple of bucks. You can sail to the Governor’s Island, Ellis Island, Brooklyn, Queens, New Jersey, or mid- or uptown Manhattan. A free ferry to Staten Island lets you sail by Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and enjoy the views of the Lower Manhattan skyline on your ride back.

Times Square and Central Park are just a few subway stops away, and there are a few subway stations within a 5-minute walk from the hotel. Think 20 minutes to Times Square and 30 minutes to Central Park. If that’s not too much of a ride for you, then you might have found a perfect family suite at Gild Hall for your next trip to New York.

To recap

If you’re traveling to New York with a family, you might want to consider staying at a Gild Hall King suite. It costs only 24,000 points a night and features a full one-bedroom suite with a makeshift kitchen (no stove, but a microwave and fridge are available). The hotel is located in FiDi (Financial District) within walking distance of numerous attractions. It’s also an ideal spot for enjoying NYC waterways. And some world-famous New York landmarks, like Times Square and Central Park, are only a short subway ride away. The suite’s cash price was around $400 for our date before taxes, which makes redeeming points a good value.